k-brow: grillin' and chillin'

More veggie grilling
In answer to the questions about my veggie grilling...I take asparagus, zucchini, onions, peppers, whatever veggies I have on hand, and I just hit 'em with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Sometimes, if I'm REALLY ambitious, I mince some garlic, or use sesame oil and herbs. I used to just brush them with salad dressing, but recently, I'm trying to eat more very basic, simple foods, so it's usually just the olive oil and the lemon juice.

I pre-heat the grill to about 500 degrees and then just put the raw veggies on and grill away. Sometimes, (but not always) I brush the grill itself with olive oil, first. I grill the veggies about 5 minutes, grill lid closed, on high, and then check them, turning them with tongs.

With peppers, I start them with the outside skins on the grill first, and then when they get sear lines, I turn them and do the other side.

With asparagus, I start them spread out, and then as they get more done, I pile them together. You have to make sure they're perpendicular to the grill grate so they don't fall through.

I grill and taste and grill and taste till everything's done, and not too burnt.

Expect a lot of shrinkage. What looks like a huge amount of veggies cooks down rather quickly, so grill more than you think you're gonna need. They make good omelet fillings, salad additions and snacks.

I have not grilled eggplant. I'm a little afraid of it, having had the good, the bad and the ugly with this nightshade. I'm thinking to start experimenting with it, as I had some superb eggplant milanesa at Soul de Cuba in Chinatown the other night. And I like Baba Ganouj, so I'm thinking that grilling the eggplant may just make it palatable.

Today, I've spent the day entertaining my handyman, who came to give us estimates on rebuilding our rotten deck and termite damaged bathroom. These things are liveable for us, at this point, but the house cannot be marketed with them as is, in this economy, so we're tackling them as major repairs. Those, and the replacement of the dead dishwasher (though in truth, we get by just fine washing our own dishes) and the repair of the ailing washer are just big investments that we are biting the bullet and making, in hopes that they help to sell the house. My handyman reminds me that houses don't come up too much in Nuuanu, and by the time we put it on the market, it'll be hot on Oahu, and Nuuanu will seem cool and green and welcoming to all comers. I bought the house in June, and used to sit in our condo in Waikiki and watch the morning mists pour over the pali and envelope the Nuuanu and Manoa valleys and dream of living there... now, of course, I go down the hill and head east to Hawaii Kai to see the sun, and breathe some dryer air, but all things change as the seasons change.

It feels like we are in some crazy nuclear winter these days though. Maybe it's just that I work on the Windward side of the island, which gets lots of afternoon cloud cover and due to my cross-Ko'olau lifestyle, but winter seems to still have us in its grip. Cloudy, low 70's, and I've worn long pants and long sleeves more here now than ever before. I usually work in shorts or skirts and tank tops, but this spring, it's not the case. Craziness. The shawls and sweaters are definitely getting a workout.

A sweet shot of Ella sleeping.
She seems thinner, and less muscled, these days, though her senior panel at her annual physical revealed robust health and good physical condition for her nearly 11 years. She sleeps more deeply, now, too. Cricket is most definitely in his physical prime, these days, big, very fast and powerful. His fearfulness with strange people and dogs makes him a constant worry out in the public sector, but I feel like I have to walk a fine line with him; keep the stress threshold down, expose him in a safe, pleasurable way to as many new sights and sounds as possible. It takes more energy than I think I have, sometimes. When he gets to Atlanta, we'll resume working with a trainer, privately, this time, to deal with the reactivity. I know the trainers who do that work here, and feel like the venue isn't a good one for him; I want to work with someone new, someone I don't have a history with, too.

The prospect of moving has triggered all sorts of questions and wonderings...

Will I have to dress up more for work? And wear makeup?

Should I sell the CR-V here, and just drive my dad's truck, which he left to me, in Lexington?

A new place seems to be the ideal situation to start new patterns, to keep the good stuff, and to cast out the not-so-good. I think this is what's keeping me working on this move so far, as it seems, at times, altogether too much to face.

Must Have is stitched together. Photos to come this weekend. I'm not 100% thrilled yet, but as you know, my FO's grow on me. I love the sheepy smell of it, but it's gonna get washed and blocked, because I want to squeeze some length out of it.

I'm swatching for the February Lady Sweater, with some Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed. I love the yarn, though it's DK nature worries me a little with gauge issues; the pattern calls for worsted yarn. The Silkroad is a pretty fatty DK though, and I nearly have gauge with #7 needles, and I'm told that the pattern sizes run big, so I'm pretty ready to cast on. Time to knit something purple.